By Morgan Hamilton -

Being a teenager can be fun and exciting. During this phase, young people start to explore a new and exciting world that they didn’t notice when they were still under the age of thirteen. Drinking alcohol and driving are among the new activities that teenagers begin to explore. Unfortunately, these elements often combine into a dangerous blend of poor judgement and drunk driving.

Teenagers want to be left alone and often resent any authority figure. Doing prohibited and potentially dangerous activities like driving and drinking are exciting to them. They will often do anything they want, and combined with some peer pressure, this often results in teens driving drunk.

Are you aware of the statistics on teens and drunk driving? If you are a parent like me, you should definitely be familiar with this issue. Teens are always anxious to try alcohol and if you consider that the majority of them have poor driving skills, they are obviously heading for disaster. I can really relate to this situation.

When I was a teenager, I was also tempted to drink because everybody else was doing it. I wanted to be considered a cool guy and cool guys during my time drank a beer and drove fast cars. I was lucky not to experience any accidents because my father was smart enough to prohibit me from driving until I became more responsible.

Most teenagers these days are into alcohol and own a driver’s license. I got a big dose of this reality when my son was involved in an alcohol related incident. Although I was glad that it was not about teens and drunk driving, I wasn’t happy about the other aspects of the incident. My son and some of his friends thought that it would be fun to steal liquor from a clubhouse. Fortunately for me and the other parents, they were caught for possession, burglary, and trespassing. After this punishment doled out from this incident, I know my son and his friends will look at alcohol in a different way.

If you are concerned about teens and drunk driving because you have teenagers of your own, you can get valuable information from the World-Wide-Web. Protect your children’s future by knowing about the possible dangers of teens and drunk driving.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Teens and Drunk Driving [http://www.kidsandteeninfo.com/info-for-kids--teens/children--teen-news/the-scourge-of-teens-and-drunk-driving.html]. Visit our site for more helpful information about Teens and Drunk Driving [http://www.kidsandteeninfo.com] and other similar topics.

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By Jacob Malewitz -

Allowing your son or daughter to throw a party… serving them alcohol after graduation from high school… allowing other minors to drink at your home – there are many scenarios where parents misunderstand the scope of underage drinking laws. It’s best to be simple: no one is allowed to drink alcohol under the age of 21, and if they do they are breaking the law. By allowing them to drink in your home, whether they’re your children or not, you are breaking the law. If someone is hurt, it is your legal responsibility and you may face charges.

Why is it like this?

Underage drinking and driving is one of the leading causes of traffic fatalities nationwide. The law was created in part to keep minors from getting into traffic accidents. While it may seem unfair that minors can pay taxes, drive, even serve in the army, and cannot drink, it’s the current law. It’s designed to protect minors from being hurt. As a parent, it may seem okay to let some drinking occur under your supervision. The laws are pretty clear that you are breaking the law.

What if you provide alcohol to minors?

If you give them alcohol, it’s breaking the law. If you allow it in your home, it is against the law, even if you did not provide it. You are then subject to criminal law penalties.

What if you’re unaware of the drinking?

This is not supposed to scare you, only to better help protect yourself. If there is drinking going on at your home and you have no knowledge, usually you will not be held liable. The fact is many from 16 to 21 do drink illegally, and a lot of parents would face charges if the laws were different. Usually you will not be held responsible, even if someone is hurt.

What if you aren’t home?

Legally, this can be complex. You can still be held liable for minor drinking if you know of the drinking. How the police prove this is up to them. The situations can vary. If the problem is a lack of supervision, you can face charges. Say for example you leave the kids home every Friday night, some drinking occurs, and someone is hurt. Because you were not properly supervising, you may face charges. In other cases, it can be proven that you were simply not at fault, did not leave your children alone, but some drinking went on.

What penalties do you face?

One example is where a parent was charged with involuntary manslaughter after hosting a party with minors where a later car accident killed several. This is how dangerous it can be. If you supply alcohol to a minor, you can face criminal prosecution. Sometimes you can even face civil penalties – such as being sued by other parents after an accident. Civil penalties can cost you large amounts in hospital fees as well as pain and suffering issues.

Who can help?

The best thing you can do is talk through the situation with your children, stop any illegal part you may have in their drinking, and be sure to properly supervise your children when they have parties at your home. It would be impossible to stop every minor from drinking before they reach the legal age. But it’s the law. If you run into some legal problems, it may be time to consult with legal representation.

Jacob Malewitz is a professional law writer. He recommends http://www.duiattorneyhome.com for DUI advice and defense.

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